A Critical Components Aerospace worker manufactures a landing gear axel at at the company’s Oklahoma City facility. The company, which has partnered with the state’s ACES Program, produces flight and space components. (Photo by Kennedy Thomason/Oklahoma Voice)
OKLAHOMA CITY – A small state-run aerospace program is helping drive companies to Oklahoma “fast and furiously,” the program’s director said.
The state’s Aerospace Commerce Economic Services Program, or ACES, has helped secure 54 projects generating $1.9 billion in new investments since its launch in 2018, according to 2023 state analysis.
The four-member unit landed nearly a quarter of those projects — expected to generate about $702.7 million in investments — in 2023 alone, according to the report.
“It’s letting people know that Oklahoma is open for aerospace business,” said Sandra Shelton, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics. “That’s really important, because when people think about Oklahoma, they don’t think about Oklahoma being the aerospace capital of the world.”